UCLA Magazine, Summer 2004
On March 3, 1999, Anderson School classmates Sean Gjos, Eric Eisner and Ralph Vogel were playing for UCLA’s club team in a national-championship ice-hockey tournament – the first time that the Bruins had made it into the postseason.

The game in Salt Lake City, Utah, had barely gotten under way when Gjos M.B.A. ’99 went shoulder-to-shoulder against a player from Life University, a small college in Marietta, Ga. As they raced for the puck, a body check knocked the 6-foot-1-inch Gjos off balance and sent him crashing into the boards. A moment later he was down on the ice.
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USAToday.com, August 20, 2003 As Neo in The Matrix, Keanu Reeves realizes he is 'the one.' In real life Reeves hopes to start a revolution in the treatment and care of people suffering from spinal cord injuries. Reeves joined fellow celebrities and NHL stars last Sunday for a celebrity hockey game to benefit the Spinal Cord Opportunities for Rehabilitation Endowment Foundation. The full article: August 20, 2003 - As Neo in The Matrix, Keanu Reeves realizes he is ‘the one.’ In real life Reeves hopes to start a revolution in the treatment and care of people suffering from spinal cord injuries. Reeves joined fellow celebrities and
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UCSD School of Medicine News, March 13, 2001 Mark Tuszynski and colleagues at UCSD discovered that nerve fibers grew after injury without any intervention. The researchers are now studying what intervention could do to help growth. EMBARGOED By Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences for 5 p.m. EST Monday, March 12, 2001 UCSD Researchers Discover Mechanism of Natural Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury Findings Have Potential for New Therapies Researchers ha
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Chicago Tribune, October 8, 2000 J.J. O'Connor and Rob Komosa have a lot in common. Each was a young athlete whose playing career ended in a horrifying moment that left him paralyzed. In the last six months the two have become friends, but it's not a relationship built on tragedy. What binds them together--and sets them apart--is a determination not just to reject self-pity but also to ease the way for others like themselves. "I had so much support when I was hurt that when people around you are hurt, you want to give back," O'Connor said. "It makes you stronger when you can support others. "The same way people have supported me, I support Rob." O'Connor, then a Loyola Academy
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UCLA Daily Bruin, September 25, 2000 Sean Gjos stands as an example of athletes we can learn a lot from despite not being the best or a famous name. I've written at least 100 articles for the Daily Bruin, featured people currently in Sydney and covered athletes who've won national championships. And one thing I've learned is that it's not always the biggest, best or brand-name athletes who have the stories to tell. Sometimes you can learn a lot from the ones who love the sport so much they'd pay for the honor of playing it. A year ago I wrote a story about Sean Gjos, a UCLA club hockey player who had slammed into the boards during a game and crushed a part of his spine
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Business Wire, March 2000 In an effort to support spinal cord injury research, a non-profit foundation has donated a total of $50,000 to two key organizations -- the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis -- on March 17. In an effort to support spinal cord injury research, a non-profit foundation has donated a total of $50,000 to two key organizations -- the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis -- on March 17. The gift was made by SCORE (Spinal Cord Opportunities for Rehabilitation Endowment), a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization dedicated to helping spinal cord injury vi
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The Salt Lake Tribune, March 2000 Sure, Matt Maw is pumped by his promised April visit with Superman, but what he really wants to do is cross the street. Sure, Matt Maw is pumped by his promised April visit with Superman, but what he really wants to do is cross the street. Maw, 22, was a world-class power tumbler until a training mishap five weeks ago left him with almost no movement in his arms and legs. The gymnast, who was working toward the 2004 Summer Olympics, attempted a triple back tuck maneuver in practice Feb. 23 when he slipped and landed on his head, breaking two vertebrae in his neck. Actor Christopher Reeve, a quadriplegic, will appear at a benefit in Ogden on April 13
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UCLA Daily Bruin, June 1999 Paralyzed in a hockey game, UCLA's Sean Gjos is facing his toughest battle yet as he struggles to walk again. If you were to ask Sean Gjos about his accident, you'd find there's a lot he could tell you. He could tell you how he ended up on the bad side of a routine body check that sent him flying into the boards. He could tell you how, as he lay helplessly on the ice, he just kept wishing the pain in his back would end. And he could tell you how, as the numbness swept from his toes to his waist, he was very, very scared. "I really don't remember what I was thinking - it was a combination of fear and wanting the pain to go away," Gjos said. The memories don't end there.
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LA Times, April 1999 A routine body-check paralyzed MBA student Sean Gjos. Now his attitude and friends help him through. "A routine body-check paralyzed MBA student Sean Gjos. Now his attitude and friends help him through. The worst part is in the morning, when Sean Gjos emerges from the forgiving fog of sleep and is suddenly jolted back to reality. He remembers that his life, which had been progressing so smoothly, changed irrevocably in an instant because of a freak accident in a hockey game. He remembers that he can't walk and that because he hasn't gotten a car with hand controls, he's dependent on friends to get to doctors' appointments and classes at UCLA's Anderson Sc
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New Mobility, May 1997 Jesse Billauer is well connected. When we first called he was connected to Goldie Hawn on his other line. During rehab, he was connected to Christopher Reeve. In March, he had time to connect with New Mobility. When we spoke, he had just turned 18 and was about to celebrate the first anniversary of becoming a C6-7 quadriplegic. Jesse Billauer is well connected. When we first called he was connected to Goldie Hawn on his other line. During rehab, he was connected to Christopher Reeve. In March, he had time to connect with New Mobility. When we spoke, he had just turned 18 and was about to celebrate the first anniversary of becoming a C6-7 quadriplegic. "It's amazi
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